"That thing really won't fall down." Aya habitually looked up at the sky, the black, faintly glowing night sky and the ever-present "moon" hanging at the highest point above reminded him that this was no longer the world he was familiar with.
"Don't look up, although they probably didn't see your face clearly at that time, but still be careful." Tsukiya, who was holding Aya's arm, used the paper umbrella in his hand to shield Aya's head, whispering a warning.
"Whew... that was scary." Aya looked around nervously, relieved to see that no one around him paid any attention to him.
After three days of preparation, Aya and Tsukiya openly entered Seabreath once again. According to Ayako's idea, because their organization consisted of only a few people, it was not very realistic to threaten the high priest at the pinnacle of the national religion from other aspects, especially considering how many people within the sect might be colluding with him.
Therefore, the top priority remained the same as before with Tsukiya, to take out the high priest individually, capture him and force him to admit his conspiracy before revealing it to the public.
In the past, this plan might have seemed crude and unrealistic, but with Aya, this unexpected ace in the hole, avoiding the guards in the town of Iwaryu and taking down the seemingly alone high priest was quite feasible.
The execution of the plan naturally fell to the two strongest fighters, and coincidentally, Aya, with their unconventional status, caused chaos at the scene of the execution, diverting attention away from their appearance. Meanwhile, Tsukiya, disguised with a mask, carried out the assassination and rescue of Ayako without revealing their face.
"Remember, you must follow my commands throughout." Tsukiya's gaze peered through the bangs hanging over his forehead, quietly monitoring the guards stationed at various locations of the venue.
Tonight... although there was no concept of night in this place, according to the timekeeping tools, it was indeed evening. In order to appease the emotions of the townspeople and formally announce their takeover of the seaside town, Iwaryu held a large gathering.
If the high priest was in cahoots with Iwaryu, the probability of encountering that guy tonight was not small.
The venue for the meeting was still the circular plaza in the center of the town, the only place capable of accommodating all the residents. As the guards lit torches around the perimeter for illumination, two rows of armed guards escorted Iwaryu, now dressed in a black formal outfit, to the plaza.
After estimating the number of people, confirming that it was almost the same as the town's population, Iwaryu cleared his throat, walking slowly up the elevated platform at the center.
"I am very pleased that all of you could come here, and I thank you for trusting me—even in the situation where I failed to protect His Excellency the high priest properly. Although my father's departure and my sister's actions have caused me great distress, swearing by the Tairaeda family name and the honor of our hundred-year legacy, I will..."
"To be honest, he's quite persuasive when he speaks. If I wasn't on your side, I might have believed him." Aya whispered as she listened to Iwaryu speaking on stage. Speech is an art, especially essential for politicians or leaders, and in that respect, Iwaryu was quite competent. Considering his age, which was actually that of a teenager, it was quite impressive.
"Tsk, how can that guy compare to Miss Ayako! Look at his pretentious face on the stage, it's nauseating!" Ryujing, who had been silent and bowed since entering the town to fit his role, couldn't help but retort upon hearing Aya's words jokingly. To him, Miss Ayako was the epitome of perfection, while that Iwaryu guy, no matter how well he pretended, was just a repulsive clown in Ryujing's eyes, not even worthy of comparison!
By the way, Aya and Sakuya purposely created character backgrounds to avoid suspicion when entering the small town. They posed as a newlywed couple on their honeymoon - one man and one woman, with Ryōji acting as their servant, helping with the luggage. When Sakuya first saw this setup, although he didn't say anything, he kept giving Ayako dissatisfied looks while glaring at her with eyes that seemed to want to kill. Fortunately, Ayako managed to persuade the swordswoman through her words and actions one night.
"Ayako actually mentioned to me before that Iwao's abilities are not bad at all; he's only slightly behind Ayako. It's just that Lord Tairaeda seems to favor Ayako a bit more," Sakuya explained.
"What?!" Ryōji stomped his foot.
"I just said it casually, don't overreact," Aya shrugged, covering Ryōji's mouth with her hand to prevent him from attracting attention, "But more importantly, it seems like the High Priest doesn't intend to show up."
"Yes," Sakuya scanned the venue, also seeing no sign of the High Priest appearing, as Iwao's brief speech on stage was coming to an end.
"So, is it time for me to step in?" Sakuya hinted, sparking Ryōji's enthusiasm, who set aside the previous issue and eagerly volunteered, "Leave the guiding to me!"
They didn't have much time to capture the High Priest. As the frequency of the Dark Shapes appearing inside Morninglight slowly increased, the resistance organization had to take action to minimize the disasters caused by the Dark Shapes.
While Ayako's trio was responsible for capturing the High Priest and extracting information from him, Ayako and the rest headed to the nearby city of Brookdale. The city lord had some connection with the former head of the Tairaeda family and possessed significant influence within Morninglight. If they could publicize the exact evidence obtained from the High Priest through the city lord, the news would spread throughout Morninglight, eventually prompting the country to take action against the church.
"Is this how it ends?" Sakuya wondered after the meeting dispersed and people scattered throughout the town, blending with the crowd, they quietly made their way to the harbor dock of Seabreath.
It was said that the harbor was once bustling with twenty berths full of merchant ships or ships embarking on adventures. However, news of all adventurers never returning and the rampant Dark Shapes of late had led only to a few fishing boats near the coast, which by now had all gone home for rest.
"Is that... the Cliffside Cave over there? It was hidden in such a place?" Running along the coastline on the dock, with buildings gradually becoming scarce along the way, then returning to the forest seen commonly in the mountains, Sakuya looked up at the cliffs sculpted by the sea and wind.
Seabreath was surrounded by mountains on three sides and faced the sea on the other, with peculiar landforms, and the Cliffside Mountain was one of them. Due to being a bare rocky mountain without the usual soil and water like normal mountains, people generally didn't settle or grow crops nearby.
Instead, the sea caves formed at the foot of the mountain, due to tectonic movements and sea erosion, attracted some children to explore. However, when one unlucky child got lost inside and never came out, parents warned their children not to go near them.
"It does look a bit eerie..."
Looking at the bizarre and ghostly sea-eroded rocks at night, as well as the deep cave oozing with cold wind, Aya was feeling a bit hesitant. The moonlight over the sea outside was somewhat comforting for someone afraid of the dark like him, but going inside?
Aya vigorously shook his head like a rattle-drum.
"How about we ambush outside, and capture the High Priest when he comes in or goes out? Wouldn't that be better?" suggested Longjing, only to receive incredulous looks from both Aya and Shuye.
"Stop kidding around and come over here. The number of Shadow Forms on the way here has increased significantly, that guy might still be inside controlling the Moon of the Sea. We can't afford to waste time," emphasized Longjing, finally finding a point to outdo Aya, as he pointed at him confidently.
Even Longjing understood the logic – the best way to overcome fear is to face it head-on... but it was still so frightening!
With a complex mix of emotions, Aya reluctantly mustered up his courage and followed the others into the pitch-black sea cliff cave.
Once inside, they discovered that it wasn't as pitch-dark as expected. There were minerals resembling fluorescent rocks scattered on the walls, emitting a faint glow. Although weak, both Aya and Shuye, with their enhanced night vision, were well equipped for the darkness.
Longjing had once followed the High Priest, making him familiar with the route and allowing him to move even more effortlessly than Aya and Shuye.
"But this damp and slippery feeling is still a nightmare..." Aya muttered, retracting his hand from a large wet rock covered with moss, a sensation he did not particularly enjoy.
Despite the dimness in the cave, as they progressed, Aya and Shuye noticed something intriguing. Amidst the seemingly chaotic rocks, there was a hidden pattern that guided them through a clear path.
"We're here!" exclaimed Longjing quietly, but the sound echoed a few times in the cave, allowing Aya and Shuye to feel the excitement too.
At the end of the path was a smooth stone wall, unlike the damp one covered in moss earlier. This wall was smooth, warm to the touch, and devoid of any vegetation.
After feeling around the smooth wall, Longjing discovered a crevice and, with a forceful push and pull, revealed a tablet about half the size of a small table. The tablet had uneven buttons with peculiar symbols engraved on each.
"What's this?" Aya and Shuye both looked perplexed.
Thankfully, Tiran wasn't around, as he would definitely have compared it to some kind of artifact used in keyboard warrior battles.
"The entrance password," Longjing smirked triumphantly and pointed to the top of the tablet. There were two movable sliders at the top, slowly maneuvering to reveal two characters unfamiliar to Aya.
"These are all in the legendary Icarash language. The two characters on top form a single word. Each time it's initiated, a random word comes up. Creating a poem using the characters below that includes the word from above will open the door."
And so, we have arrived at the long-awaited segment of "What if Tiran were here?"
"Isn't this made up of Chinese characters?! "
